New U.S. broadcasting chief fires agency heads
Source: Politico
WASHINGTON The new chief of U.S.-funded international broadcasting on Wednesday fired the heads of at least three outlets he oversees and replaced their boards with allies, in a move likely to raise fears that he intends to turn the Voice of America and its sister outlets into Trump administration propaganda machines.
U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack informed those he dismissed in email notices sent late Wednesday just hours after he had sought to play down those concerns in an email to staff saying he is committed to ensuring the independence of the broadcasters who are charged with delivering independent news and information to audiences around the world.
Two congressional aides said that among those removed from their positions were the head of Radio Free Asia, Bay Fang, the head of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, Jamie Fly, and the head of the Middle East Broadcasting Network, Alberto Fernandez. The director and deputy director of the Voice of America, Amanda Bennett and Sandy Sugawara, had resigned from their positions on Monday.
Pack, a conservative filmmaker and one-time associate of President Donald Trumps former political adviser Steve Bannon, said in a notices to those fired that he was taking the step consistent with his authority as the new CEO of the overall agency. It gave no reason for his decisions.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/17/michael-park-voice-of-america-327713
more at link
sakabatou
(42,152 posts)He's trying to turn things into state media.
DENVERPOPS
(8,817 posts)to be a "Putin" who has control over all media in Russia.......
Any journalist that says anything contrary to what Putin wants, gets murdered or just disappears......
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)The Ministry of Truth has determined that this thread is in violation of the Fairness to Trump Act and will be subjected to further investigation for Criminal Fakeness and Not Winning.
Rating: Ungood.
KS Toronado
(17,220 posts)pecosbob
(7,538 posts)csziggy
(34,136 posts)He knows that six months from now any decisions he makes will be not as hard to reverse. People fired now will move on and may not be willing to go back to positions that are so vulnerable to political whims.
LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,585 posts)to be immediately replaced when Biden takes over.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,425 posts)That didn't take long. I guess he'll have to do something about the Twitter account:
New US Global Media Chief Fires Agency Heads in Major Reshuffle http://dlvr.it/RYsBDx
Link to tweet
Biden Would Beat Trump by a Landslide, New Reuters Poll Shows http://dlvr.it/RYrmwz
Link to tweet
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)maxrandb
(15,324 posts)SKKY
(11,804 posts)...Voice of America was a thing.
Kitchari
(2,166 posts)honest.abe
(8,678 posts)Putinesque.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,425 posts)Tue Jun 16, 2020: White House, April: Amid a Pandemic Voice of America Spends Your Money to Promote Foreign Propaganda
Fri Apr 10, 2020: White House blames the Voice of America
It's time to play "Who's to Blame?" Let's meet today's contestant, the Voice of America.
<Applause>
You might ask "what brought this on?" Well, there was a reporter from the VOA at one of the recent dog and pony shows (owners of dogs and ponies, please don't bother to complain) who asked a question Glorious Leader did not like. I'll link to it.
Here it is. It originally appeared at 1600 Daily.
Thu Apr 2, 2020: Remarks by Trump, Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing, 04-01-20
THE PRESIDENT: But I am glad you asked that question because we want the farmers theyve had this for years. We want the farmers to be able to get the people that have been working those farms for years or were not going to have farms. So theyre going to come in and theyre going to be given a certain pass. And were going to check them very, very closely, especially over the next month.
Because remember, after a month or so I think once this passes, were not going to have to be, hopefully, worried too much about the virus.
But we want them to come in. Were not closing the border so that we cant get any of those people to come in. Theyve been there for years and years, and Ive given the commitment to the farmers: Theyre going to continue to come. Or were not going to have any farmers. Okay?
Yeah. One more question.
Q What about waiving visa restrictions for immigrant doctors?
THE PRESIDENT: Who are you with, by the way?
Q I am with Voice of America.
THE PRESIDENT: Boy. Amazing.
Q So what about waiving these restrictions on immigrant doctors?
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Who else, please?
{snip}
END
7:18 P.M. EDT
Well. Here's this morning's blamefest:
Amid a Pandemic, Voice of America Spends Your Money to Promote Foreign Propaganda
April 10, 2020 3 minute read
This story first appeared in 1600 Daily, the White Houses evening newsletter. Subscribe now to get breaking news from President Trump before anyone else.
Voice of America is a global news network funded by American taxpayers. It spends about $200 million each year on its mission to tell Americas story and present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively to people around the globe.
Today, however, VOA too often speaks for Americas adversariesnot its citizens.
The Coronavirus pandemic is no exception. Secrecy from the Communist Party of China allowed the deadly virus to spread across the world.
Journalists should report the facts, but VOA has instead amplified Beijings propaganda. This week, VOA called Chinas Wuhan lockdown a successful model copied by much of the worldand then tweeted out video of the Communist governments celebratory light show marking the quarantines alleged end.
Even worse, while much of the U.S. media takes its lead from China, VOA went one step further: It created graphics with Communist government statistics to compare Chinas Coronavirus death toll to Americas. As intelligence experts point out, there is simply no way to verify the accuracy of Chinas numbers.
The Coronavirus story is just one example of this pattern. Last year, VOA helped highlight the Twitter feed of Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif while he was issuing threats against the U.S. and sharing Russian anti-U.S. propaganda videos.
VOA will represent America, its guiding Charter reads. And for years after its founding during World War II, VOA served that mission by promoting freedom and democracy across the world for audiences who longed for both.
Today, VOA is promoting propaganda insteadand your tax dollars are paying for it.